Archive for September, 2012

What’s better than teaching kids about volunteerism and getting them involved in the community? Encouraging young volunteers to recruit adults to volunteer! Boys & Girls Clubs of Las Vegas is doing just that with their Project Learn and Applause programs.

Applause is a creative educational art program that involves the Boys and Girls Clubs of Las Vegas to create positive recognition billboards designed to act as outreach material that celebrates the volunteerism experienced by the Boys and Girls Clubs of Las Vegas.

Club members will create their billboards during the program, Project Learn. Project Learn introduces club members to varying forms of community service and serves as an educational program that seeks to increase members’ motivation to learn, improve their grades, and increase their ability to graduate from high school and attend post-secondary institutions.

As part of the collaboration, club members and current volunteers will discuss a particular aspect of volunteerism and illustrate their own experiences of volunteerism in their community and the outcomes it yields. The artwork will be collected and displayed in each of the eight Las Vegas clubhouse locations. A few illustrations will be enlarged and printed professionally to be displayed throughout the community in local businesses, schools, libraries and the Boys and Girls Clubhouses of Las Vegas and will serve as marketing and informational pieces to recruit potential volunteers interested in the tutoring and literacy programs inside the Boys & Girls Clubs of Las Vegas.

You can find more information about the great work Boys & Girls Clubs of Las Vegas is doing with their club members and find volunteer opportunities on our website.

This blog post is brought to you by one of United Way of Southern Nevada’s AmeriCorps VISTA members, Steven Nichols. Steven is a Volunteer Coordinator at Boys & Girls Clubs of Las Vegas.

Las Vegas plays host to hundreds of conferences every year among the glitz and glam of the strip. Amidst the meetings, sessions, and networking, some companies have made it a priority to expand their conferences to make a positive impact in the community outside Las Vegas Boulevard. This last week, United Way of Southern Nevada (UWSN) had the opportunity to work with two businesses that are making community service a priority.

Propak Cleans the World and Spreads the Word

Last Thursday, UWSN teamed up with Propak to work at two nonprofits making a big impact in Las Vegas and beyond: Clean the World and Spread the Word Nevada.

At Clean the World, a team of 30 worked to separate pallets of discarded hotel toiletries in order to assemble hygiene kits that are distributed domestically and internationally to reduce waste and prevent hygiene-related illnesses. The team worked up a sweat, separating eight enormous pallets of supplies!

The second group of Propak volunteers did some heavy lifting at Spread the Word Nevada. Two pallets of books were sorted and counted. They also cleaned and repaired books that will make their way into the hands of low-income children. Some lucky volunteers also helped out in the preparation for Spread the Word’s upcoming fundraising gala.

Both groups made a huge impact in their afternoon of service and we were incredibly impressed with their teamwork and efficiency!

Advent Software Serves Students

This Monday, UWSN headed down to the Bellagio, where Advent Software was holding their annual conference. As a part of their exhibit hall, Advent incorporated a space for service. Advent employees were lined up and ready to volunteer! Hundreds of volunteers stepped up to assemble 2,000 dental hygiene kits. Four local elementary schools serving a large population of low-income students were presented with 500 kits to distribute to their students.

The dedication of the Advent employees was clear and we know the impact of the dental hygiene kits will be felt long after they return to their offices around the world!

UWSN would like to recognize the Propak and Advent employees who served this week and call out for other companies to think about incorporating service into their conferences. As Advent and Propak found, there is time to work and enjoy this great city while giving back to the people who call it home.

You can find more information about how your business can partner with UWSN to get involved in the community on the UWSN Volunteer Center website. Check out individual volunteer opportunities on the website, too!